Why I Like President Obama
Let me make this clear: I am a big fan of Barack Obama. I liked him as a politician and a public figure immediately. After reading a great deal about him, watching him deal with the strains of the primary, and listening to him discuss complicated subjects, I concluded that not only was Barack Obama the best choice for president, but that he was ideally suited to be the president at this point in time.
Brother Barack (yes, that's what I call him sometimes) wrote two books. I didn't read either of them until he won the election. I feared that if I read the books, I would become too emotionally invested in the outcome of the election. I was already far too emotionally invested in the outcome. Reading the books was simply not an option.
Following his election, I went ahead and read the books. Actually, I downloaded them and listened to Brother Barack read the books to me while I drove back and forth to work. I made the right decision about not reading the books before the election. I was so impressed with the man after listening to him read his first book, Dreams From My Father, that had he lost it would simply have been unbearable. Among other things, he did voices. Unbelievable. Most importantly however, he revealed himself to be both intellectually intelligent, but also emotionally intelligent. He has the ability to talk to people no matter who they are or what they think. He is a pure pragmatist. He doesn't let pettiness interfere with his interactions with others. Further, in pursuit of a goal, he has the ability to create consensus where it seemed impossible. I think he is able to work with people who hold very different opinions because of his ability to synthesize all of the relevant information about a particular issue without necessarily allowing his bias to get in the way of his goal. An understanding of the big picture, and where the varying opinions lie, allows Obama to operate at a level above almost everyone. Any good psychologist has this skill, particularly those who deal with conflict resolution.
I knew that these interpersonal and intellectual skills would be put to good use. I wasn't wrong. A perfect example occurred just today when President Obama successfully mediated a dispute between French president Nicholas Sarkozy and Chinese president Hu Jintao at the G20 Summit in London. Keep in mind, Obama managed to work with individuals from very different (and difficult) cultures and customs; both different from each other and different from Obama. This could have easily been a disaster. Instead, he pulled it off:
The exchange between Sarkozy and Hu got so heated, said a source -- who is not a member of the Obama administration -- it was threatening the unity of the G-20 leaders' meeting.
But Mr. Obama, according to this account, stepped between the two men, urging them to try to find consensus, and giving them a "pep talk" about the importance of working together.
The senior adminstration official said that Mr. Obama pulled Mr. Sarkozy aside, took him to a corner, "and discussed possible alternatives," the senior official said.
Once they arrived at one, President Obama "sent a message to the Chinese" that a counter-offer was on the table. The Chinese spent some time considering the offer. But they took a few minutes.
So Mr. Obama, with the assistance of translators, suggested that he and Mr. Hu have a conversation as well. They, too went to the corner to talk. After a few minutes, Mr. Obama called upon Mr. Sarkozy to join them.
"Translators and sherpas in tow, they reached an agreement," the official said. "There was a multiple shaking of hands."
I think that much of the Obama-mania is originates from persons like myself who believe Barack Obama has special skills. Given that he's both human and a politician, he will doubtlessly disappoint us, probably a lot. That's just reality. Nonetheless, given the difficulty of the issues facing this country both domestically and abroad, someone with well-developed interpersonal skills and the ability to synthesize a large volume of information is an asset.
I promise to write something critical about Brother Barack in a later post.
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